There’s no denying the fact that many of the pieces in this collection are lively, but some are simply light – even restful – providing a necessary contrast to enhance the overall enjoyment of the music.

The opening and closing tracks reveal Robert Farnon (1917-2005) in his prime. Derby Day proved to be an instant success when first heard in 1954, almost a decade after Peanut Polka achieved similar popularity in the 1940s. Farnon originally called it Popcorn Polka, but that particularly north-American delicacy was then unknown in Britain. His publishers wisely decided upon the change, although it is such a catchy number that it may well have become just as popular whatever the title. Farnon’s own recording has been widely available for over fifty years, so on this occasion Guild has selected a lesser-known version by Russian-born Mishel Piastro (1891-1970) and his Concert Orchestra. The composer was delighted with this spirited rendition by an orchestra popular in the USA.

Gérard Calvi (real name Grégoire Elie Krettly, born 1922) created the music score for many European films (notably the "Asterix" movies), but he was also a prolific writer of popular songs – over 300 in total. Probably his most successful composition internationally was One Of Those Songs - thanks to Will Holt adding the English lyric to his catchy orchestral piece in this collection called Le Bal de Madame de Mortemouille.

Percy Faith’s (1908-1976) Caribbean Night comes from a lightweight 1951 Warner Bros film "Starlift", which harked back to Second World War morale-boosting movies, but this time centred on the Korean war. The weak plot involved troops meeting many of Warner’s contact stars playing themselves, notably Doris Day and Gordon MacRae.

The famous German violinist Helmut Zacharias (1920-2002) is featured as both composer and performer in The Boy On The Carousel. He rose to prominence in the 1950s when the American Forces Network in Frankfurt described him as ‘the best jazz violinist in the world’ – helping him to become one of Polydor’s best-selling artists. During his long career he composed over 400 works and his album sales exceeded 13 million.

Guy Luypaerts (b. 1917) worked with Edith Piaf (he arranged her 1946 world-wide hit "La Vie En Rose"), Georges Guetary, Yves Montand and most notably with Charles Trénet. Guild has previously included his imaginative sounds in the Cole Porter tribute (GLCD 5127) and conducting quirky cameos such as The Sleepwalker of Amsterdam (GLCD 5131) and Masquerade In Madrid (GLCD 5132). This time he conducts two pieces under his pseudonym ‘Guy Lupar’: Jose Fontaine’s catchy Whimsy, and his own composition Chatter Box.

Eugene Cines, the American composer of Spindrift, was a prolific contributor to several mood music libraries, with his total output of published works well in excess of 400.

"Music from Studio X" was a radio programme on the Mutual Broadcasting Network in New York which ran from 1956 until 1959. The lush theme music was composed by trumpeter Joseph J. Leahy, born in Boston, who honed his musical skills in the bands of Les Brown, Charlie Barnet and Artie Shaw, before becoming known in his own right as a bandleader, arranger, conductor and record producer.

Florian ZaBach (1918-2006) was an American violinist and conductor who became a well-known television personality in post-war years. He appeared on many top shows from New York, including Ed Sullivan, Arthur Godfrey, Milton Berle, Red Skelton and Steve Allen, before moving to Hollywood to film the weekly "Florian ZaBach Show".

Richard Hayman (b. 1920) started as a professional musician at the age of 18 as a harmonica player, but he wisely decided to concentrate more on arranging and conducting. He worked on the MGM musical "Meet Me In St. Louis" and was put under contract by Mercury Records in 1950. He also arranged for the Boston Pops, serving as back-up conductor for Arthur Fiedler.

During the 1950s Angela Morley (1924-2009, at the time working as ‘Wally Stott’) composed many light pieces for Chappell & Co., the leading London publishers of background music. Miss Universe is typical of the bright, tuneful pieces that became her trademark.

Falling Star is a rare early recording by Cyril Ornadel (b. 1924) who became well-known in Britain as conductor of the orchestra for the popular television series "Sunday Night at the London Palladium". He was MD for numerous top musicals in London’s West End, and his composing credits include the hit show "Pickwick" and the song Portrait of my Love which gave Matt Monro an international hit. Later he made many fine orchestral albums with his ‘Starlight Symphony’.

Kenneth Victor (Ken) Mackintosh (1919-2005) was a popular British saxophonist and bandleader from the 1950s to the 1970s. He chose the pseudonym ‘Ken Morris’ when he composed Strings On Wings which reveals a talent that one wishes might have been more fully employed in the fields of light music. He also used the pseudonym ‘Andy Burton’ for his most successful composition The Creep. His band appeared in the 1955 Diana Dors film musical "An Alligator Named Daisy". When Chappells recorded Strings On Wings it was at the start of the long Musicians’ Union ban, forcing mood music publishers to employ orchestras elsewhere in Europe. Chappells had already established ‘The Queen’s Hall Light Orchestra’ as a highly respected name in light music circles, so it is understandable that they were unwilling to discard it. However they had to protect Robert Farnon’s involvement, so he became ‘David King’. Soon afterwards Chappell decided that their recordings made in Copenhagen by the Danish State Radio Orchestra would be under the name ‘The Melodi Light Orchestra Conducted by Ole Jensen’, and it wasn’t long before ‘The Telecast Orchestra’ also appeared on the scene serving the same purpose.

Leon Pober (1920-1971) composed the music for the 1960 musical "Beg, Borrow or Steal". His published works exceed 150, and his tunes still crop up in films today, such as "The Fabulous Baker Boys" (1989) and "Meet The Parents" (2000). He must have been delighted when Lou Busch chose Rainbow’s End as the ‘B’ side for his big hit Zambezi.

Trevor Duncan (real name Leonard CharlesTrebilco, 1924-2005) came to the attention of light music fans with one of his first compositions, High Heels (on Guild GLCD 5124). Eventually his successful and prolific output mushroomed to such an extent that he had to find several different publishers simply because he was writing too much for just one to handle. His works have already appeared on several Guild Light Music CDs, and he was the featured composer in "Hall Of Fame Volume 2" (GLCD 5124). Smile Of A Latin was given a bright treatment by the Frank Chacksfield Orchestra in 1958, surprisingly a year before it was offered as a piece of library music by the publishers Charles Brull.

Boris Sarbek (born Boris Saarbecoof, d. 1966) emigrated from Russia to live in France, where his orchestra performed a wide repertoire of popular music. When playing Latin American music he used the pseudonym ‘Oswaldo Berkas’ – the surname being an anagram of ‘Sarbek’.

Billy Joseph Mayerl (1902-1959) was already universally famous for his piano playing, before attractive pieces of light orchestral music started to appear in background music libraries. Busybody on Guild GLCD 5150) and Mediterranean Cruise (GLCD 5151) are now joined by Reno Runaway. Cecil Milner was among several arrangers who worked on Mayerl’s melodies, and it is just possible that he may have created the attractive score for this piece.

Eric Spear (1908-1966) will forever be associated with the theme for the TV series "Coronation Street", but this was only one of many light music works he composed. Midnight Blue, on a Ron Goodwin (1925-2003) 78, was included on Guild GLCD 5111, but on this occasion Eric is conducting his own ensemble in Proud As Peacock, on an early 45 from the small British label Oriole.

Stars Shine In Your Eyes from "La Strada" was one of the top songs of the 1950s, and the version on this CD combines the talents of two ‘greats’. London-born David Rose (1910-1990) fronted one of the top light orchestras in the USA for three decades, and his own compositions such as Holiday For Strings (on Guild GLCD 5120) became known throughout the world. Nino Rota (1911-1979) provided the music score for some of the most memorable Italian films of the last century, his score for "La Strada" being one of the finest.

David Curry was known in Britain as conductor of the BBC Northern Ireland Light Orchestra, a position he held following its formation in 1949 until he retired in 1965. At one time he was said to be the only Irishman in the orchestra, but the standard of playing quickly improved under his guidance. His own composition Leprechauns’ Dance charmingly blends top quality light music with the atmosphere of so many traditional Irish airs.

The American composer and conductor Nick (Nicholas Paul) Acquaviva (1925-1998) -although not a frequent visitor to the recording studios, gained recognition in the USA through his involvement with the Symphony of the Air orchestra and as conductor of the 135-strong New York ‘Pops’ Symphony Orchestra which promoted new works by young composers.

Tony Osborne (Edward Benjamin Osborne, 1922-2009) became a familiar name in post-war Britain due to his broadcasts and recordings. He had played piano with many top orchestras before embarking on his own career, which resulted in work with international record companies like RCA, who commissioned I’ve Got The World On A String.

Ray Martin (1918-1988) had left EMI’s Columbia label by the time he recorded an LP called "Ray Martin’s Mixed Grill" for Polydor. But the distinctive string sound that had made him famous was still there, even if he was starting to respond to the demands from record company executives to mould his style in response to the changes affecting so much of the popular music business. From this LP Guild has previously featured Carriage For Marriage (GLCD5156) and now it is the turn of Silhouettes In The Sand.

Peter Yorke (1902-1966), the composer of Monica, is a regular contributor to this series of CDs, as composer, arranger and conductor. After an apprenticeship served in British Dance Bands of the 1920s and 1930s, he graduated to arranging for Louis Levy before eventually forming his own concert orchestra for recording and broadcasting.

Dolf van der Linden (real name David Gysbert van der Linden, 1915-1999) was the leading figure on the light music scene in the Netherlands from the 1940s until the 1980s. As well as broadcasting frequently with his Metropole Orchestra, he made numerous recordings for the background music libraries of major music publishers. On this CD his orchestra performs Smart Set for the Synchro Music Library, which was a relative latecomer among the leading London publishers of the 1950s. The composer Len Stevens(d. 1989 - his full name was Herbert Leonard Stevens) contributed mood music to several different libraries, with a style that his admirers quickly grew to recognise. Like so many of the talented musicians employed in the business, he could turn his hand to any kind of music that was needed, and he was also involved in the musical theatre.

Frank Cordell (1918-1980) was a fine English composer, arranger and conductor whose work first became noticed through the tuneful backings he often supplied to some contract singers on HMV singles in the 1950s. Occasionally he was allowed his own 78s, and some were his own compositions, such as Rhapsody In Red.

Sidney Torch (1908-1990) is well-known in Britain for his numerous Parlophone recordings, as well as his long tenure as conductor of the BBC Concert Orchestra in the "Friday Night Is Music Night" BBC radio programme. In the middle years of the last century there were several transcription music companies providing material for radio stations across the globe, and they commissioned recordings from many top conductors. On Guild GLCD 5154 we have already heard Ronald Binge’s Tales Of The Three Blind Mice from the US Lang-Worth Library, and from the same source we now hear Torch conducting On The Fiddle by Al Golding.

Robert Stolz (1880-1975) was an acclaimed Austrian composer, extremely popular in his homeland until he went to Hollywood to escape the Nazis, where he enjoyed success writing music for films. African Moon seems to be a rare example of one of his shorter pieces being recorded for mood music purposes. Stolz was familiar to lovers of operetta, and Guild GLCD5118 presented him conducting a selection of his most enduring melodies.